Recently, we mailed out WRC updates—letters, postcards, emails of all of us—to clients and friends. I didn’t expect much beyond the usual replies. But then, I got the kind of response that stops you in your tracks.
A client from the 1980s gave me a call. His name is Seymour D., from Los Angeles, CA. Seymour is now 98 years old, still an active CPA, still driving in LA, and his wife of many years is doing well.
He had seen that both of my children, Worth and Grayson, have joined our firm and that we’re growing with two new brokers with years of experience. And then he said something that really hit me:
“You were about your children’s age when you sold my 200-unit apartment complex .”
Back then, Seymour was the savvy investor and experienced CPA from LA. And I? I was a young, green kid from Ole Miss by way of Arkansas—what some might call a redneck—trying to break into the apartment world in Memphis. I’d saved just enough from side jobs in high school and college to pay rent for a year and maybe afford a few dates on the weekends. I had to make it work as there was no safety net.
Seymour took a chance on me. He was a huge part of my early success.
And now, decades later, he picked up the phone just to say hello. I was stunned. Grateful. Moved. It brought a tear to my eye.
Thank you for reaching out, Seymour. You reminded me how meaningful a simple connection can be—even after all these years.
Maybe this is our nudge to check in on someone who once made a difference in our own story. You never know what kind of joy it might bring back.
